Legends Never Die
by Tsubasa K. Kruger
Summary: Everything they'd done so far wasn't enough. For their world to not suffer again, it needed to become better. And it wouldn't do so on its own, not when no one realized there was something deeply wrong. Someone needed to nudge their nation into change, to lead it to a brighter future... and if not them, who? / EWE, Reincarnation AU, Golden Trio-centric, Politics (slight)
1. Start

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and associates. Everything that isn't part of the canon universe belongs either to Tsubasa K. Kruger or to someone else who will be given the appropriate credit in the corresponding chapter.  
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 **Note: This story and the accompanying series will have the books as base canon unless explicitly stated otherwise. In that sense, assume that everything up to Voldemort's death progresses exactly as in the books, with the moment he dies being the divergence point. Therefore, the Epilogue doesn't exist.  
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 **One – Start**

There was once a time where all things were doomed to end, where the dead remained dead and their experience was forever lost. It was a time of endless struggles and unavoidable pain, where even the most paradisiac of worlds eventually faded into dystopia or vanished in a burst of fire and blood.

It was a dreadful time to live in, particularly for the mortals born during the final decline of their world. Dimension, age, species and intentions mattered not as millions of mortals perished with their Higher Spirits watching helplessly from the sidelines, powerless against the Apocalypse – and sometimes, it was their own inner fights as they grew disappointed on their charges what ultimately caused their demise; in some particularly painful cases, the Spirits themselves chose to end the worlds entrusted to them, no longer willing to face what they saw as their most horrifying failures.

Through all of this, the Higher Powers stood and watched, not uninterested but neither exactly concerned by all the chaos. It was the nature of things to come to an end, after all, and one or a thousand universes meeting theirs wasn't worrying – just the Cycle of Life occurring, though perhaps a tad accelerated.

However, when the previously nigh-infinite amount of living universes was reaching a dangerously low count of just about twenty-three hundreds, the Higher Powers unanimously decided that They needed to do something lest the whole multiverse suffered the worst of fates.

At that point, there were three kinds of universes.

There were those that had completely disappeared, leaving behind empty voids of despair where they had once been located and vague memories of their former existence in those who had known of them. These were the majority and, sadly, there was nothing the Powers could do to save them, for they lacked even the most basic of materials for Them to work with.

Secondly, there were the universes where all life had been lost, and yet the worlds still existed – broken and hopeless and oppressed by empty silence, but they still _were_. Those were somewhat difficult to work with, but finally They agreed to set things back to the Beginning and watch them closely so as to not lose them again; perhaps, They mused, They would have to create new Higher Spirits to properly care for them. These worlds would be more experiments than anything else, and the wager paid off with equal amounts of thriving, death and Final Apocalypses; much as it hurt, They chose not to reset those that had somehow managed to perish twice under different patrons.

And last but certainly not least, there were the worlds that still lived, despite all of them being in various stages of their own Apocalypse; the stubbornness with which Life remained in them was seen as a proof of worth and resilience, leading the Higher Powers to pay more thought to the method they would use to make things right again. In these worlds, and eventually those who thrived after having died once, They decided to do something more than simply ordering the Higher Spirits to watch more carefully: give the best mortals they had to offer the chance and the responsibility to involve themselves with the happenings of the multiverse to a degree previously unheard of.

Because the Higher Powers are timeless beings, it was just a matter of decision for Them to observe what had already been so as to choose the mortals They would single out for this mission; as They would reset the worlds afterwards to allow the chosen ones to actually make an impression, it was entirely possible that some of them would never be born in their world's second chance. It was a delicate task with potentially bad results if They missed one key component, but They stood behind their choices.

These mortals were impressive in their own rights, without interference from any higher being and more often than not without much to distinguish them above their peers. However, what all of them had in common was their refusal to sit by as their worlds neared destruction and their willingness to work hard in their efforts to avoid it – not that they were all always successful, but it was the intention what counted.

Once They were certain that a mortal deserved to become a Legend, They plucked their soul away from their Reaper Spirit and held them closely, instructing them in their mission with the warmth and concern of a parent wishing their child happiness; once They were completely sure that They had all the souls these worlds could offer, they completely reset them at the same time – this, of course, included granting them new Spirits (which mostly meant shuffling around those that existed already). The souls that were not chosen as Legends were partially cleaned, so that they could not remember anything that had happened but retained the broad aspects of what had made them their own person, before they were freed and began to be born for the second and last time (unless, of course, they did something worthy of being Ascended).

Then, slowly, one by one, They started returning the Legends to mortal bodies (this time around, never in the world they had originally belonged to) with the whisper of their mandate in the back of their minds, hoping silently that this would work.

For the following millennia They watched and debated, making arrangements here and there when They thought Their plan could use some adjustments and occasionally (very rarely, just once or twice per thousand years amongst all the worlds) choosing new souls to become Legends. Mostly They just observed the proceedings, and when a Spirit asked for a savior They evaluated if the situation truly warranted one before taking a random, currently 'unemployed' Legend and placing them where needed.

The Hero Mandate all Legends received upon their Ascension wasn't absolute, however, but rather just a strong suggestion that would follow and whisper to them whenever they needed encouragement. Free will had been in most cases the sole reason why the mortal had risen to Legend, after all, and in an effort to preserve that treasure the Higher Powers had to accept the wager.

Sometimes, a Legend would keep true and take the world to a new level of Balance. Sometimes, they would sit by doing nothing to change things. Other times, they would try but be unsuccessful. It follows that, once in a while, a Legend would cause the world to spiral downwards; for these occasions, the Higher Powers would always insert another Legend to hopefully fix things, following the same pattern.

A few worlds would die regardless, but this time it was a natural, not-accelerated Cycle of Life. That it may or may not have been provoked by Legends was irrelevant.

Sometimes, the story of two or more Legends would be so intricately woven together that just the mere _possibility_ of either one of them having risen to that status without the other by their side was inconceivable. They were not only almost as plentiful as the Lone Legends, but often more successful as well – because, clearly, they had their shared bond to fall back on whenever they needed strength.

They were also the ones most likely to cause a Final Apocalypse, especially if they had already reunited with their eternal partners and lost them in a violent way. Sometimes, not even other Tied Legends could prevent such an event.

Regardless, if the Powers could feel fondness it would be directed to Tied Legends above the Lone ones.

However, unlike the Powers, the Higher Spirits _had_ emotions (it was an important part of the reason why some had begun to fight) and therefore _could_ feel predilection. One aspect of this was that certain Spirits preferred to have certain Legends incarnated in their domains, based on their deeds in other worlds during their first lives and those that followed. Tied Legends who could bring worlds to Utopia without even trying were evidently top of the list, and would be the ones with most incarnations if the Spirits could choose which Legend to have born in the universe they watched over – as it was, they could only express their need of a Savior, and whoever answered the Call was, as previously stated, completely random.

Some Legends were, in this aspect, important enough that whichever Spirit had been their patron before their Ascension felt proud that their path started under their watch. The greater the Legend, the prouder the Spirit– the situation was very akin to a parent bragging about their child's success, which of course meant these Legends would have felt incredibly embarrassed to learn of this.

Quite understandably, one of the prouder Higher Spirits was the patron of the universe randomly identified as number 777. This Spirit's almost-smugness was absolutely deserved, for it had been one of the few to not be reassigned and, despite the fact that universe #777 had had its fair share of struggles and came close to death more than once, its population had always _somehow_ managed to come out on top. And not only that, but this world had also given birth to an almost unbelievable number of Legends, many of which were widely liked by all the Spirits – but none like a trio known even by their world's mortals as the Heroes of Gold, or more commonly (even centuries after their deaths) as the Golden Triad.

These Tied Legends had been born millions of years into the existence of the universe they'd called home, in a critical point of history that without their intervention would have meant a Final Apocalypse within a couple hundred years at most. Their efforts, however, spawned over five centuries of unprecedented peace and gave ground for a relatively peaceful and prolific society that would only start to stir fifteen hundred years after their deaths (a situation that they would be later sent to solve, ironically enough).

The Heroes of Gold, three friends born with the gift their people called 'magic', lived long and successful lives, punctuated by selfless work in benefit of their world and little personal lives to speak of – there were, of course, but most of their time was spent in their restless pursuit of a society very much unlike that which they'd grown up in.

They'd loved their world and its people, and they'd loved their traditions and quirks, but they'd seen and experimented very closely (though not always personally) the downsides of each and every ingrained custom and neither felt the slightest bit comfortable leaving things be for the following generations to suffer through.

The eldest amongst them, called Hermione Granger, was the only female, a brilliant witch born from a long line of non-magical humans and the one that took the lead when it came to intellectual matters. The second in age was Ronald 'call-me-Ron' Weasley, son of a very long magical line and their inevitable guide when they needed an actual, honest-to-Merlin strategy. The youngest, Harry Potter, became famous as a toddler for surviving an otherwise lethal attack and with his unbelievable luck and natural charisma took the lead in every matter that was not appropriated by his friends.

Unlike many other Ascended, they would forge the beginnings of their legend in the fires of war – in a conflict they'd become involved in as children, a conflict that lasted three decades and killed thousands for the mere crime of not being _pure_ enough to live. They were veterans of war by the time most mortals in their world were finishing school, hardened by battle and pain when everyone else was chasing love. But they'd been thrown in with little to no choice and they'd done the best they could, finally rising above all hardships and becoming pillars of a stagnant society – and instead of hanging their battle dress and settling with a standard, peaceful adult life, they decided to _embrace_ their newfound status and do everything within their power so the war they'd won wouldn't start again, so that future generations wouldn't have to step forward and solve problems caused by their ancestors.

However, the rest of their rise to Legend had been... less violent, although not entirely peaceful. Indeed, the young trio merely transferred their combined might from the field of battle to that of politics, and within their long lives managed to establish the bases for what could arguably be considered one of the greatest civilizations their world had ever seen.

The Heroes of Gold met when they were barely eleven years old, and one would be lying to say that they became friends at first sight – in fact, they quite disliked each other for the first several weeks of their acquaintance, but there wasn't much they could do to be separated when they were in the same dormitory within the boarding school for young witches and wizards they attended.

Their friendship was, just like their legend, forged in battle.

They had barely known each other for two months when Ron, in what he would later call the most stupid thing he'd ever done but something he would definitely do again if only for what came of it, insulted a very stressed Hermione, who then spent the rest of the day crying in the bathroom. Later that night, during the Halloween feast, a troll was set loose within the school, and both Harry and Ron rushed to warn Hermione once they realized she wasn't in the Hall with everyone else. The troll entered the bathroom before they did, and so it became a fight to the death – the first the trio would partake in and come out of on top, stronger and closer for it.

They became friends after that day, always closer than family despite the many frequent arguments they fell into, due to them being too immature to interact smoothly with their clashing personalities.

Their worst arguments were during their third year at school, when Hermione's cat fixated on Ron's rat and later seemingly killed it, and again the next year, when Harry was entered against his will in a deadly Tournament and Ron immediately assumed it had been on purpose. Both times, their friendship tensed almost to the breaking point – and both times their bond proved stronger than their differences.

And so they stood together, engaging in yet another battle to the death against their enemies late into fifth year and once more in sixth, growing closer as their experiences held them together when everyone else their age was naïve and completely unprepared to understand their too-mature battle-hardened personalities.

What should have been their seventh year of school was spent on a trip around the islands their country was located in, as they looked for certain objects that needed to be destroyed before they could kill their greatest enemy, the same man who had tried to kill Harry half a dozen times since he was a toddler and was hell bent in conquering England for himself.

Ron wavered for the last time that year, when one of the objects they were hunting turned his mind and his insecurities against him, but he came to his senses immediately and spent the following month trying to get back to them until he finally succeeded.

That year was the worst so far for them, because not only their bond was tested again (for what they didn't know would be the last time), but they suffered the lives of political fugitives with grossly large bounties on their heads, away from their friends and families and knowing that, no matter how bad was their situation, their loved ones had it _worse_ – because the others were living in the previous comfort of their home or the castle that was the boarding school, but they were also under the enemy's thumb and risked death every day for being who they were and being in some way related to the trio.

They almost broke under the pressure of that reality – not as a group (never as a group, not after they grew up and realised they needed each other more than their personalities clashed) but as individuals, as children forced to become adults way too soon, as teenagers forced to become soldiers and pick up a sword that their predecessors had so clumsily dropped, as young adults desperately trying to keep themselves together while their nation seemed determined to tear itself apart.

But they persevered, and they became stronger for it, and when the time came (when they'd destroyed every single one of their enemy's anchors, rendering him mortal once more), they were ready.

Ready to stand their ground and fight, to rally a young army against cruel mercenaries who'd oppressed and tortured them for a year, to become the symbols their people needed to stand against evil, to stare into the abyss and will it to blink first, to raise their weapons and risk their lives for a nation that didn't quite have to courage to stand for itself.

And it hurt.

It hurt and they bled and their hearts broke, and their leader died saving those he loved and the world he'd fallen in love with despite its many faults, and he came back and they stood together to deal the final blow against the forces that would subjugate and kill millions if someone didn't stop them.

And in the end, when the sun rose and shone over a broken hall where once upon a time children had eaten and played and laughed and loved life and magic and love, when they looked upon the cooling bodies of those who'd fallen and the barely together frames of those who'd somehow survived, at once they knew what they needed to do.

Because it wasn't enough to take up arms and kill a man if the ideology behind him remained alive.

It wasn't enough to defeat a small army if the society who'd given birth to them didn't move forward.

It wasn't enough to end one reign of terror if chances were another would come, mere decades later, and force more children to grow before their time and become soldiers to fix a mess caused by their ancestors.

It wasn't enough to topple one tyranny when the pieces were set for another to settle into power.

It wasn't enough to overcome one ideology in battle if they couldn't erase its roots in a stagnant society.

It would never be enough.

For their world to not suffer again, it needed to become better. And it wouldn't do so on its own, not when the powerful were comfortable in their seats and the poor and forgotten were too intimidated and used to their place to realize there was something deeply wrong.

Someone needed to nudge their beloved nation into change, to lead it to a brighter future and show it that life could be better if everyone had a better place.

And if not them, who?


	2. Aftermath

**Two – Aftermath**

The week after the Battle of Hogwarts was a chaotic blur.

Busy as they were with helping capture the few Death Eaters that escaped, identify the unmarked supporters, compile a list of the victims, call out to the still-hiding fugitives of Voldemort's regime, repair the castle and bring the Ministry to some semblance of order, it took them far too long to process what they lost.

One of Ron's brothers came back to the family after almost three years of distancing himself from them, but another's life was cut tragically short.

Hermione discovered that memory charms could no longer be undone twelve months after they were cast, and that she'd thus forever lost her parents a week before the Battle.

Harry lost a distant but much beloved cousin, as well as the last of his parents' friends, and the news finally reached him that his non-magical relatives had died two months before.

It was wrong and upsetting and _tiring_ , and even though it hurt and added yet another weight to their shoulders (the weight of a loss, of a death they felt they could've avoided if they'd only been more intelligent, faster, stronger, better, _more_ ), they couldn't yet take time to mourn – not when their world needed a fast response from its idols to not fall into chaos, to keep standing even if severely beaten down.

As the days went by, their busy schedules had to add memorials and funerals, press conferences and meetings at the Ministry, making sure their loved ones were alright and spending some time with little Edward "Teddy" Lupin, Harry's orphaned godson – it was so much work they were lucky if they could sleep a full five hours in one go, and even then it only happened when two were taking care of things while the third slept.

It took over a _month_ for them to manage a quiet night away from their current responsibilities, and even then they were practically forced to take some time off by a very concerned set of friends and family.

Early on June 15th, they were given wallets packed with muggle money and dumped on muggle London, with strict instructions to relax and not come back until late the next day _at the soonest_.

Lost and confused, they stared at each other for a moment, then at their wallets and back at each other, and finally they shrugged and went for the nearest diner, figuring that if they were being forced to take a break they could at least have the food they'd been too busy to enjoy in the last five weeks.

Soon enough they were acting like tourists, hopping from one place to another and pretending the memories didn't hurt – but they did, and it became evident when they found a quiet bar, walked inside and began to drink.

They would hardly remember most of what happened between that day and the next, when they were tracked down by their friends and taken back home after said friends realised they were too drunk to keep enjoying their break.

When they sobered up, the three friends sat down and discussed their trip around London, eventually agreeing to swear oaths to avoid drinks unless on the occasional social event where it was strictly necessary to keep a glass in hand (even if stretching it the whole duration of the event) in order to maintain a certain appearance of friendliness – because they couldn't very well make their society better if they resorted to alcohol to ignore the pain.

No, they had to be lucid and in full control of their capabilities, and for that they couldn't drink even half as much as they had that night, but they knew that they weren't yet strong enough to stop drinking if they had more than one glass of anything stronger than wine.

With that resolution made and the oaths taken, they realised they hadn't yet decided _what_ , exactly, they were going to do with their lives – only that they had a society to fix. In order to solve that little failing, they determined to stay locked inside the study on Harry's house (inherited from his godfather) until they came to satisfactory solutions.

The easiest was, perhaps, Hermione. She'd always been a staunch advocate for justice, with all it entailed, and it was therefore only logical that she follow the best path for bettering the various problems their society had in those regards: she would need to get into the Wizengamot, the legislative and judicial branch of their government, to move forward the laws they'd need – but, before that, she would of course need to study the current system, to actually know what they'd have to change, erase and create.

Ron was also quite fast to determine. He was a fighter, a strategist, and he'd always felt more at home fighting bigotry and injustice with his wand, with his magic, his strength, rather than with his words and speeches he barely had the patience to listen. Thus, the best path for him to follow was that of a Law Enforcement officer – he would join the Auror Academy, and climb the ranks until he directed the arm that would enforce and protect the system they wanted to implement.

After that, it was a bit more difficult but, in the end, still logical to decide Harry's future. He was charismatic, ambitious, cunning and the most public figure their society currently had, as the twice-defeater of a Dark Lord and sole survivor of the Killing Curse – and, what's more, when he spoke, people _listened_. Quite conveniently, he already had two seats in the Wizengamot (a rather middle-class one, from his father's family, and a high-profile position from his godfather's), and so it only made sense that he'd use those seats, his natural charisma and the fame that'd been dumped on his head to press for the changes they'd need.

Hermione would propose, Harry make true and Ron enforce. It was the perfect plan, really.

That September was important for their efforts – because Hermione was accepted as the apprentice of a respected member of the Wizengamot's Legal Office, and Ron received his letter of admission into the Auror program, and Harry claimed his seats. Small steps, perhaps, but steps towards their goals nevertheless.

Why shouldn't they be content that their project was moving along nicely?

Before too much happened in their respective positions, though, they had to deal with another issue: the death of Andromeda Tonks, Teddy's grandmother and guardian, left the toddler on Harry's care – which, even if it didn't feel like a chore, or like he was being held down or saddled with unwelcome trouble, _was_ a little bit troublesome, because Harry was eighteen and not entirely sure of how he'd manage between caring for his godson and working with his friends to better their world.

"We'll manage, mate" were Ron's words to him on the night of the funeral, after Andromeda's body was cremated and the ashes buried on the Black Family's ancestral lands as was traditional.

(Because the first thing Harry had done after claiming his place as Head of House Black was bringing Andromeda back into the family, accepting Teddy and –posthumously– his mother as children of House Black and expelling more than a few unsavoury individuals, some of whom were no longer alive.

His actions had caused ripples on their society, and several unhappy grumbles from those who'd now lost their connection to the substantial money and influence of the Black family, which he couldn't care less about.)

Harry looked up from the sleeping toddler on his arms, who'd morphed to look like a diminutive copy of Harry as he always did when held by the teen, and smiled at his best friend –his brother– grimly.

"I know" he answered. "We always do."

Ron nodded resolutely and clapped him on the back, while Hermione gripped his upper arm tightly in silent support.

And they did manage – with help from Ron's family, particularly his mother, who was very happy to care for the little boy while the trio worked or studied.

Teddy missed his grandmother, obviously, but he didn't have time to feel alone, because he had a large family regardless and they never let him feel like he wasn't loved, even if no one had a halfway close blood connection to him.

Less than a year after Andromeda's death, Ron graduated from the Auror Academy with honours, top of his class despite having skipped several courses (it couldn't have been any other way when he was already capable of running circles around most Aurors by the time he received his OWL results), and went straight to work as the junior partner of Kingsley Shacklebolt, who _really_ preferred working on the field rather than being stuck behind a desk and thus had rejected to hold the Minister's office until things were settled enough for elections.

(Normally, the first step for Auror graduates was to patrol and guard places like Diagon Alley or the Ministry Atrium, not going straight to investigating serious crimes and tracking down high-level criminals – but Kingsley was confident in Ron's abilities, and the second he heard of Ron's admittance into the Academy he'd gone to the Heads of the Auror Office and the DMLE requesting that the youngest Weasley boy be put to work with him as soon as he graduated.

Ron wouldn't learn of this until a few years down the line, at Kingsley's retirement party, where the man would admit that, besides recommending the young Senior Auror as his replacement as Head Auror –a position that Ron had literally only heard ten minutes ago would go to him–, he'd also made that request.

Ron would never forget that a good reason for his meteoric career in the Corps was Kingsley Shacklebolt's trust.)

It took until early May of 2001 for Hermione to finish her studies and start working as a magical solicitor and soon enough as a barrister – barely four months later, she was contacted to begin working at the Wizengamot's Legal Office, a position for which she'd only planned to apply later on.

(A lawyer entering the WLO with less than two years of experience was almost unheard of, so she hadn't seen the need to bother seeking a job there despite it being her mentor's workplace.

What's funny is that, regardless of what she initially thought, Harry hadn't had anything to do with the offer – he'd actually been offended when she asked, and went on a fifty-two minute rant about how he didn't have to pull any strings when his friends were brilliant enough to get high-level opportunities on their own.

That also served to appease Ron that his status in the Corps had literally nothing to do with his younger brother and everything to do with his own talent. If Ron had held any lingering insecurity at that point, it would've been erased right there.)

Around the same time, the political arena began to stir in preparation for the General Elections of 2002. Harry, who had been thinking about having a try at one of the many elected positions of the government (a relatively low-level one, to start with, maybe in one of the Wizengamot local committees), was caught off guard when a rather unexpected offer came from wildly different fronts.

Representatives of the Light bloc of the Wizengamot (Heads of the more progressive Wizengamot Houses) approached him on September 1st, quite out of the blue, and expressed their desire to nominate him for Chief Warlock. The Greys (progressive in some aspects, traditionalists in others, and the bloc Harry belonged to – especially since he held seats traditionally belonging to the Light and Dark) made a similar request after the monthly meeting the next day, when Harry was still reeling from the Lights' offer and considering if he felt ready for that.

Then the Ministerial bloc (certain high-profile Ministry officers) asked him early on September 4th. The Representatives (chosen by the populace) weren't far behind, expressing their choice later that same day.

The shock came when the Dark bloc (staunch traditionalists, most of which had family members become Death Eaters during both wars) came to him at the end of that first week of September.

If Harry chose to run for Chief Warlock, his election was practically a fact – because, although the position also called for popular vote, the voices of the Wizengamot members had much more weight and he literally had the support of most of that body (there was the chance of members not supporting him, but the blocs only spoke for the majority of its own so he could be moderately sure). Every bloc wanted something of him, a compromise so to speak, to champion their causes and move for certain changes, but that was to be expected and the requests (said or otherwise) were nothing that made him pause.

The Lights still saw him as their Golden Boy who could do no wrong and would surely drag Magical Britain kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.

The Greys saw in him a strong and charismatic candidate, one who could move the whole country with mere will towards what was actually best for their people and not what an ideology said.

The Ministerials wanted the Wizengamot and the Ministry to stay out of each other's business for the most part, because regardless of whatever their influence inside the magical parliament could provide their Departments and Offices the previous two wars had proven it was a really bad idea to have both bodies so deeply intertwined.

The Representatives simply suffered from a case of hero-worship worse than the Lights – the general populace seemed to see him as a sort of magical messiah, much to Harry's chagrin even if it was helpful in his political ambitions.

The Darks, however, saw in him a candidate who'd already proven he wasn't letting anyone lead him by the nose, whatever their political leanings, and figured that he was their best chance for keeping the Lights from sending everything to hell with their stupidity. Besides, it was obvious that they wanted to step away from the stereotype nailed on them through the Voldemort Wars, and supporting the one who stopped said Dark Lord was a logical move.

He met with various people over the next week, spending a few hours each day with Hermione, Ron and Percy (their godsend of a political advisor, who was impossibly proud of Harry for going into politics and taking it seriously) going over their plans and considering every possible consequence for every possible move.

Finally, on the twentieth, with Hermione already installed in the WLO and Ron freshly promoted to Senior Auror, Harry officially launched his candidacy for Chief Warlock.

There were other candidates, but whatever they did was never enough – they didn't have the support of any Wizengamot bloc, if anyone in the parliament even set their money on them, and most ran personal campaigns.

Harry's campaign was concluded with a massive event on the third day of 2002. The elections were held on the twelfth, and the results were conclusive – Patriarch Henry Potter-Black was elected as Chief Warlock with full support of the Wizengamot and 87% of popular votes, which made for a whooping ninety-four percent total.

One of the most interesting things about Harry's election, at least to the international press, was the young wizard's age – he was, at twenty-one years and five months of age, the youngest head of magical parliament since their people began to use said institutions in the late 10th century.

Magical news media all over the planet commented on the oddity, even those who cared nothing for Magical Britain (for a variety of reasons, most of which circled around their stagnation, sense of superiority and holier-than-thou attitude – all things the trio planned to change even if it wasn't helpful to gaining international allies).

Then Harry took over the seat from Patriarch Cyrus Greengrass, and at his opening speech at the Wizengamot Plenary he reiterated his intentions for significant change in their society, so that they would once more be the greatest magical nation in the world.

Hermione was perhaps the happiest about his victory, since he could now propose several of their more radical changes with a surer footing – he hadn't been able to do much as a newbie, regardless of the power of his seats or his own personal popularity. Sure, he'd managed to start the discussion for things like a Ministry-funded magical orphanage, but none of his (admittedly few) proposals were anywhere close to getting the first draft prepared.

No, Harry's first three years at the Wizengamot had been, just as predicted, slow and tiring and dedicated entirely to getting comfortable and making alliances, something that had clearly proved useful – but now he had a chance, and he wouldn't waste it.

The first proposal he made as Chief Warlock was setting up a Ministry fund so that every muggleborn who set foot on Gringotts could get a blood test done in an effort to find heirs to dead families – the wars had taken a heavy toll on their people and there were way too many unclaimed vaults sitting at the goblin-run bank, which meant there was a fortune that, instead of being put to good use in their slow economy, was only collecting dust.

It was a success, and in barely three months the Wizengamot approved the bill that set up the Lineage Revival Fund.

(The goblins were obviously thrilled at the mere thought of more gold moving, having already forgiven the whole dragon incident during the end of the war – Harry's standing in regards to the place of non-humans in society was known and very much appreciated by said non-humans, who'd watched Harry's career with interest since those opinions became known and had secretly celebrated his campaign and election.)

Their following proposals weren't quite as dramatically successful, but it was obvious for anyone with eyes that Harry's work as Chief Warlock would be as fast-paced as his rise to said position.

The first time he made the papers for something other than his political career was in early July of the same year of his election, when it came to light that he'd legally adopted his orphaned godson on June 29 – the papers gave a brief summary of everything that was known about Edward Remus Potter-Black (which was limited to his name, parentage and for how long he'd been living with Harry) and remarked that no one had ever seen the boy, who was now four years old, because his adoptive father kept him out of the spotlight with remarkable fierceness.

(The _Prophet_ in particular suggested that Harry's protectiveness was perhaps born of a need to prove Albus Dumbledore wrong, since the late hero had hidden Harry himself away in the muggle world so he'd grow away from the press and without developing a big head.

Just for that, Harry decided to tweak their noses by giving the _Daily Quibbler_ –the wildly popular newspaper founded by the Lovegoods to be a mostly serious counterpart to their still eccentric monthly magazine, and the one paper widely considered to be the _Prophet_ 's greatest rival– an exclusive look into the daily life of the Potter-Blacks, even allowing a picture of them sitting in the public lounge of Black Manor.

Personally, Harry found it hilarious that Luna saw the exclusive as a prime opportunity to continue tweaking the _Prophet_ 's nose for what they seemed to think was journalism. But, well, there was a reason why the previously most popular paper was being shoved to the background.)

Thirteen months later, Kingsley Shacklebolt retired from the Auror Corps and nominated his former partner to replace him. And so it was that, at twenty-three years old, Ron Weasley became the youngest Head Auror in history, surpassing Thomas McKinnon who was a week older than Ron when he took the post in 1882.

He hadn't held the post for a week when he had to deal with his first mess, which was really just the conclusion of a disaster that had been months in the making – a group of extremists who had been _really_ unhappy with most of the reforms being proposed by the new Chief Warlock and backed by the Minister finally decided to make their displeasure patently obvious by attempting to blow up the Wizengamot building.

The explosion wasn't as bad as the attackers had hoped, but it being during the Summer Plenary there were still victims – twelve dead and over sixty injured, half the building in need of repairs (a lot of it urgent if they didn't want it to collapse), the DMLE abuzz as it tried to figure out how the hell the attackers had gotten through and the country in a mild state of panic that was only to be expected.

Especially since someone leaked to the press that pamphlets alluding to pureblood supremacist propaganda and pro-Voldemort sentiments had been found on the scene. It got worse once people heard that their beloved Chief Warlock had been admitted to St. Mungo's and, though he was expected to be fully healed within the week, had actually narrowly avoided being killed in the explosion thanks to unnaturally fast reflexes and a lightning fast wand (both lingering consequences of the war, skills learnt during that time and kept sharp by training periodically with his Auror friends).

The DMLE, and the Auror Corps in particular, were under intense pressure from the Ministry and the Wizengamot to bring the culprits to justice.

Two days after the explosion, with the DMLE reasonably fearing an attack at St. Mungo's and being extremely worried not only about Harry's safety but also about any possible collateral damage to the patients, and without enough resources to protect the hospital while keeping up with their other posts, it was decided to better send Harry off to Black Manor with a heavy security detail and a couple of healers to continue his treatment.

A week later, the DMLE cracked down hard in several locations all over the country, arresting six witches and nine wizards connected to the explosion at the Wizengamot building. Interrogations gave more and more names until nearly a hundred people were judged and convicted to Azkaban after a long trial that ended almost six months after the attack.

Meanwhile, Harry had recovered and was back in office at full strength, pressing for harsher laws so that groups like this one wouldn't have a chance to grow again.

(It felt like he was using the tragedy for that end, but Harry hadn't dared try to bring up this kind of law while people were still mentally recovering from the war and wouldn't appreciate being reminded of the violence their fellows could be capable of – doing so might've been enough for people to stop being so supportive of him, and they still needed that support.

But with the reminder being given not in form of a speech, but rather as a terrorist attack in one of the most guarded locations of the Isles, they were willing to listen and continue to rally around the Golden Trio's cause.)

For this, Hermione's new appointment as the WLO Undersecretary (which she began on August 19th) was essential, as it gave her more power to move people to research how to properly move these anti-terrorism laws.

This was their main focus for the next few years, but their positions allowed them to work on that as well as their other projects in a shorter time than they'd expected.

By the beginning of 2006, Magical Britain had begun to move forward to a future where people wouldn't have to live in fear of their own government allowing a group of extremists to disturb their society. They weren't quite there yet (there would be a few more violent episodes in the following decades), but now it looked like an actual possibility instead of mere wishful thinking.

It was therefore unsurprising when Hermione rose to Head of the Wizengamot Legal Department in mid-March, as the press gleefully credited her for her work just to tweak the noses of those people who still saw muggleborns as inherently inferior, nor when Ron was named the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement just a few days later, as he'd been essential in the swift end of the terrorist cell that threatened to throw their country into yet another war and the previous Head knew that without the youngest Weasley boy leading the Corps things might've ended years later.

Later that month, Harry announced of his candidature for Minister of Magic and received wide-spread approval and expectation, as he'd already enjoyed of unprecedented popularity as Chief Warlock during his four years in office and people were sure the elections would be a mere formality regardless of whoever opposed him.

The Ministerial Election of 2006, the first since the end of the war, was held on July 23, and two days later Harry rose to the highest elected position in Magical Britain with a resounding 95% of votes.

He was almost twenty-six, a visionary who'd proven time and again that he only wanted what was best for their people, a war hero and a one-of-a-kind icon capable of rallying around him people of all sorts of political leanings. It was evident that he'd be elected.

On the twenty-sixth, Harry made front news in all the major newspapers of Europe and a dizzying amount outside the continent, all of which featured different shots of his victory speech the previous day and spoke of his youth, his vision and his crushing victory. The British papers also dedicated a side piece to the unexpected presence of eight-year-old Edward Potter-Black at his adoptive father's side, standing tall and proud and looking every bit the noble heir he was being groomed to be.

(Harry at first didn't agree with the idea of bringing his son to such a public event, just as he hadn't liked the idea of talking about him during interviews –something that didn't become an issue until the press caught wind of the adoption and gathered the courage to ask him about the boy who up until then had _only_ been the orphaned godson he was raising–, but Percy was right that having the child be a complete unknown would make things more difficult to him once he was forcefully shoved into the spotlight when he started Hogwarts.

Not to mention that it was protocol for the families of elected Ministers to accompany them on the podium for their victory speech and for the ceremony where they took office, and if Harry broke that protocol a lot of undue attention would fall on Teddy.

Therefore, the Potter-Black heir would attend all the events that the Minister's family traditionally went to, unless there was a reasonable excuse for his absence.)

On the twenty-eighth, Harry announced his personal staff, led by Percy Weasley as his Undersecretary.

(The announcement was enough for people to suddenly begin paying a ridiculous amount of attention to the Weasley family and wondering what the hell had the parents done for all their children to be so successful – because Bill was Head Cursebreaker at Gringotts, Charlie one of the best dragon handlers in the world, George owner of one of the biggest and most versatile companies in Europe, Ron the youngest DMLE Head in history and Ginny a starter Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and now Percy was to be the right hand of the Minister of Magic.

There was also Fred, who despite having died young was a war hero and along with his twin the co-founder of the company, so obviously he would've been extremely successful had he lived to see the end of the war.)

For the elected Minister's twenty-sixth birthday, he was greeted in the morning with papers from all over the world giving a summary of his family history and detailing his biography and his work – with special emphasis on how he was the youngest elected head of a magical State in history and a war hero who'd turned to politics as soon as his role in the initial post-war recovery was done.

(Much to his confusion, more than a few papers and magazines added commentary on his appearance and judge him "classically handsome".

It would be a recurring theme for the next few decades, as he would appear on several lists on good-looking wizards. Eventually, he would also make lists in the muggle world.

Ron, of course, would think it all hilarious and read articles aloud, taking special delight in teasing him about the articles that swooned about his looks and gossiped about whether or not he was involved with this or that celebrity. Hermione would simply roll her eyes and mutter that it was ridiculous how they fixated on his appearance and love life rather than all the work he was doing to make a better society.)

The 25th of August dawned sunny and pleasantly warm, a Friday the likes of which hadn't been seen in ages – many would say a perfect day for their hero to finally take the place he deserved. The morning papers prophesized a better future and not only unprecedentedly fast-paced seven years ahead, but also the future re-election of the man who would become the Minister of Magic that day.

(Personally, Harry would've thought that was looking too far ahead if their plans didn't need more than seven years to be completed anyway. After all, one period in office couldn't be enough to finish their self-imposed mission, not even with the three positions they would hold when the sun came down.)

The ceremony was to be held before the Wizengamot Plenary and the heirs to Wizengamot Houses, high officers from the Ministry and the Wizengamot, guests from allied governments, a small handful of carefully chosen journalists and the families of the incumbent and elected Ministers. The general public wasn't allowed in the chambers without an invitation, which was theoretically handed after intense scrutiny from the security staff – but the attack on the Summer Plenary had proven such measures inefficient, as it wasn't unusual for corruption to get its sticky fingers in the security checks. Therefore, security was now temporarily in charge of the DMLE while the Wizengamot's team was reformed and trained up to the Head's standards – and Ron Weasley had almost lost his best friend in that attack, so he wasn't going to put said best friend _or_ his pre-Hogwarts son in danger by slacking off.

In the end, it all boiled down to the ceremony having an expected public of less than half the people who'd attended it in the past, something that annoyed certain people but reassured the soon-to-be-Minister.

The ceremony would begin sharply at noon and go on for one and a half hours, at which point the new Minister would have lunch with his predecessor and their families before heading to the Ministry, where the public would be waiting for Harry's first speech as the Minister of Magic. After the speech, he would be led to his new office, where he would be handed the metaphorical key to the Ministry's secrets and left alone to floo over to Downing Street so he could introduce himself to the Prime Minister.

Harry had all of this process memorized, including his speech, to the point he could go through most of the day asleep – except Hermione would kill him if he appeared any less than completely alert during the most important day of his career thus far.

He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

Breakfast was a quiet affair on the family hall of Black Manor, filled by the huge family he'd built around himself and kept sane only because of the importance of the day ahead. It might've been easier, in a way, to just have that first meal of the day with only Ron, Hermione and Teddy, but as he grew he'd found that he always felt better just being with his family of choice – and today, he needed the comfort if he was to step up to fill the one position in the magical world that'd made most of his Hogwarts years a pain without his disdain for so many of his predecessors showing on his face.

(He was just really, _really_ glad that Cornelius Fudge, despite being the only former Minister –other than the one still in office– who remained in the world of the living, had not been invited to this ceremony by reason of him still being stuck in Azkaban for a long list of crimes, including corruption and treason.

He wasn't sure he'd manage to avoid cursing the man on sight, which would be an unfortunate way to start his term.)

At ten on the dot, Harry stood from his seat at the head of the table, looked down its length to all the faces he'd come to associate with _Family_ , and felt his heart full with the knowledge that the dream he'd had during most of his childhood, of leaving his relatives and finding his own place in the world, had come true in a way that was even better than he'd ever hoped – because he had a family to call his own, because he loved and was loved in return by people who genuinely cared about him in a way his relatives hadn't understood.

Then, looking at Teddy and feeling himself smile back at the young, lively, happy face of the boy who was his son in all but blood, he placed his hand on top of the unruly black hair favoured by the young metamorph.

If nothing else, he hoped he was doing right by Teddy, that all his hard work would mean the world his son would meet when he left for Hogwarts would be infinitely better than the one that had first threatened to smother him almost fifteen years ago.

"Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"


End file.
